Gas-liquid contact columns are employed typically in a wide variety of processes to include, but not limited to: absorption; stripping; scrubbing; distillation and chemical type precesses. Such gas-liquid columns generally contain a main distributor and a plurality of other lower level distributors designed to receive a liquid to be introduced into the upper section of the column and to distribute the liquid more or less uniformly over the entire or substantially the entire cross sectional area of the column in the upper section before the liquid comes into a mass transfer exchange relationship with an upwardly flowing gas in the column. Gas-liquid columns may contain for example a plurality of gas-liquid contacting zones and such zones may comprise packing type materials, either a random or structured type packing or a combination thereof positioned in the column to effect the efficient contact between the upwardly flowing gas and the downwardly flowing liquid.
Liquid distributors often comprise a trough like arrangement or structure usually in a parallel relationship across the cross section of the column and contain overflow channels at a defined level from the bottom of the distributor for liquid to overflow through holes or slots in the vertical wall of the distributor then uniformly over the cross section of the column. Liquid distributors may be made of a variety of materials, depending upon the particular nature of the gas-liquid contact material, and for example, may be prepared of graphite if very corrosive gas-liquids are involved or may be made of fiberglass reinforced plastic or may be formed of ceramics, and more typically, may be comprised of steel, bent or formed into the desired configuration. In particular, liquid distributors may employ a central parting box as a predistributor for liquid which generally extends perpendicular to the other plurality of parallel arranged liquid distributor troughts. Generally, a liquid is fed from a pipe into the predistributor. From the predistributor, the liquid is fed to the plurality of liquid distributors for uniform distribution in the gas-liquid column. For example, one type of distributor employed in gas-liquid columns is described and illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 4,816,191, issued Mar. 28, 1989, wherein a central trough type distributor to contain liquid contains a plurality of holes positioned in the vertical walls of the trough and spaced apart splash plates with serrated lower edges are provided to aid in the uniform distribution of the overflow liquid from the trough.
It is desirable to provide for high efficiency liquid distributors for use in gas-liquid columns, which distributors may be easily and simply manufactured with a generally standard design at a reduced cost of materials and labor and which distributors are not prone to plugging in use, yet which provide for control of the liquid turndown and the liquid flow rate of the downwardly flowing liquid in the column and which liquid distributor would avoid some of the disadvantges and difficulties associated with the manufacture and use of prior art liquid distributors.